Sunday, 23 January 2011

Moonlight Cafe - Norwich

Moonlight Cafe can be found opposite Anglia Square on Magdalen Street. If you like to smoke and eat at the same time fear not, the table outside will keep you happy.

The tables by the window are perfect for people watching and the view of Anglia Square is simply stunning. Although fairly empty when I arrived the cafe was full by the time I left.

The breakfast menu is varied, reasonably priced and available all day. Perfect for those days when you have a killer hangover and don't make it outside till late afternoon!

A good selection of condiments sit on each table, the ketchup is very runny though so Heinz fans may well despair.

The tea here was perfect, the tea bag is left in the mug when it arrives so you decide exactly how strong you want it.

The angled cut in the toast made it a bit tricky to make a neat looking bacon toasty but it was hot when it arrived and the serviette on the plate was a nice touch.

I ordered extra black pudding (purely for research purposes of course!) Buried treasure was lurking under those perfectly round fried eggs.

A whole uncut slice of fried bread! A rare find these day and a welcome surprise.

The sausages although jumbo are about economy as they come, edible but an award winning banger they are not!

Plate empty and hangover almost gone, I will be returning but will be giving the sausages a miss next time.

Whenever I walk into the city I usually pass Moonlight Cafe on Magdalen street, the plates of food people are eating always at a glance have looked quite nice. A friend of mine had mentioned it a number of times saying he liked it but avoid the sausages. Hungover from drinking far too much wine the night before I decided to finally give it a try and although pre-warned about the economy sausage situation I just had to try those too...

Upon entering - The cafe has a seating area at the front with the serving hatch to the left, there is another seating area at the rear by the kitchen. Menu's are on every table so grab a seat and the waitress will soon be along to take your order. Everything was really clean and the cafe had a welcoming feel to it. 8/10

Service - The waitresses were cheerful and efficient. I ordered the full english breakfast and later realised the traditional breakfast was a better option as it had fried bread, the waitress was happy to change my order. Everything arrived at just the right time too, first the tea, then the fry up and shortly after that the toast. Im not somebody who likes to eat the toast first so it was nice to eat it hot with everything else. 9/10

Presentation - There was a lot of food on the plate and it sat quite neatly together. Buried underneath the fried eggs was the foundation for this a fry up, a whole uncut slice of fried bread. 7/10

Thefood - I am not a fan of economy sausages and although cooked nicely these tasted a bit like chewing on slightly meaty tasting foam. The black pudding was very crumbly but tasted good and the bacon was cooked nicely. The fried eggs were perfectly round and had perfect yolks that went really well with the good slice of fried bread. The tomatoes were large tasty slices and the beans were good with a thick juice. 6/10

Value for money - The prices were reasonable as you can see from the menu photo above. Extra's cost around 80p and tea was 90p a mug. 7/10

Veggie option - 2 veggie options or build your own

Overall - The food is cooked well, the place is clean and the staff are friendly. I would however prefer to spend slightly more and be served a better quality sausage but thankfully there is a sausage free option on the menu. This place is well worth a visit and fans of fried bread should definitely give it a look. 7/10

A 'Google'-search for 'Fried Bread' brought up this surprising review of The Moonlight Cafe, one of my favorite local 'greasy spoon' restaurants. It's still only dark-thirty here in Norwich, but I'll be going there for breakfast later; and personally I've never had a problem with their sausages...

Go to the Street Cafe up the road, try their sausages and you will know the difference between a proper butchers sausage and a catering economy sausage. I enjoyed Moonlight Cafe but on my search for the perfect fry up economy sausages are something I am hoping to avoid.

Yes, The Street Cafe is the best place on Magdalen Street for a fry up without a doubt! That said had a ropey roast dinner there the other week which was a bit of a shock! Moonlight Cafe I thought was ok with great service but not so great sausages!!